'''Note: The workshop is almost full! If it fills up, I'll place you on a waiting list, and contact you with more details.'''

* '''[[Special:Emailuser/scmurray|RSVP to Scott]]''' in advance. He'll send you an email with the location details.

* '''[[Special:Emailuser/scmurray|RSVP to Scott]]''' in advance. He'll send you an email with the location details.

Revision as of 09:54, 3 September 2008

Rotating triangles made with Processing

Spheres made with Processing

ASCII video image made with Processing

Scott will be teaching a workshop on Processing, a free, open-source programming environment for artists, designers, and anyone interested in getting the computer to do interesting things. RSVPs are required, as space is limited to 15 people. See #What You Need To Do to participate.

Contents

Overview

Do you remember the triangular "turtle" from Logo? "Pen down, move forward, turn right..." It was an early, easy way to tell a computer how to draw something on the screen. Processing is just like a modern, really buff version of that turtle. Think of it as being like Flash, only less flashy. If you've ever had a vision of something you wish you could make on a computer screen, you can probably make it in Processing. Well, maybe. This workshop will get you started, anyway, even if you've never typed a line of programming code in your life.

This workshop is intended as an introduction for complete beginners. No programming is experience necessary, although you should be generally familiar with how to use your computer, download files, install programs, and so on.

While the emphasis of this workshop will be on visual expressions of code, the concepts learned here can be extended to get Processing to generate audio, talk to microcontrollers (e.g. Arduino boards, MAKE boards, OSC devices), and generally interface with all kinds of other neat stuff.

Schedule

Saturday, September 13, 2008 at 2:00 p.m.

2:00—4:00: Direct instruction

4:00—4:15: Break

4:15—6:30: Open workshop (optional—free time to hang out and work on your projects with the benefit of some one-on-one guidance)

Location

San Francisco, in the Mission District. RSVP to Scott to receive an email with the address.

Cost

Free!

Curriculum

We will cover as many of these items as possible.

Introduction to Processing

What is Processing?

What can you do with it?

Examples/demos

Basics

Opening the application

How to learn more (see examples)

Counting pixels (the coordinates system)

Basic syntax (how to talk to Processing)

Drawing a line

Drawing a box

Making it bigger

Changing the color

Variables

Motion

setup() and draw()

Mouse input

Translation

Rotation

Compounding translations (pushMatrix & popMatrix)

Logic

If statements

If/else statements

For loops

Using loops with translation & rotation

Type

Loading fonts

Displaying text

Measuring width & size

More Advanced Topics

Functions

Classes and objects

Libraries

Video input

PDF output

What You Need To Do

Note: The workshop is almost full! If it fills up, I'll place you on a waiting list, and contact you with more details.

RSVP to Scott in advance. He'll send you an email with the location details.

Bring a laptop (recommended). Computers will not be provided, but we'll have wireless Internet access and lots of power outlets. Processing works on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, so any kind of computer should work fine.